Laying-machine.



F. W. VICKERY.

LAYING mAcHmE.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG.?4 19H 1319268@ Patented June 22, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FBEDEB'ICK WILLIAM VICXERY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

LAYINGr-MCHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915.

i Applioationiled August 24, 1911` Serial Ho. 845.724.

To all trimm, it may concern Be. it known that I, Fnrnsnrcx WILLIAM Vzcnnnr, a subject of the King of Great Britainresiding at London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drying-Machines, of which the following is e specification.

The present invention relates to that class of apparatus used with paper cutting machines in which the paper. after being cut, is cailried in sheet form along on a. band to a board or receiver whereon the sheets are piled up, and in which either the apparatus is raid or the paper receiving board is lowered automatically, bo keep the pile of paper in normal position with regard to the delivery band, tapes, or mechanism of the machine.

The invention comprehends improved mechanism for pressing down the sheets of paper as thevare fed-without it being necessary to perform such operationin ,relative time with the entrance of each sheet, as is now the case, this mechanism being utilizable, also, m straighten out the sheets, and

the invention further coniprehends an im-v proved raising or lowering gear which is controlled by the pressind device accordin to the relative positions o the apparatus an the pile of paper.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation'o an ordinary paper cutting machine having the invention applied thereto; Fig 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the mechanism employed for pressing the sheets down upon the pile and for straightening them at the saine time, and regulating the raising or lowering mechanism: Fig. B is a plan view of the mechanism for defierniining the rate at whichthe receptacle shall ascend or descend or-the apparatus ascend or descend; Fig. -l is u diagram illustrating a form of mechanism suitable for lowering the paper receiving board or table but also applicable for raisingthe apparatus or lh@ paper conveying belt.

'ihe sheet-pressing mechanism preferably consists of :i pluralitv of hooks or levers l, (ses Fig. 2li which are designed to nieve to- `.iard and from the pile 6 and, also, to rise :rnd fall. 'lfhese hooks are approximately eight inclus-,4 long. and re attached to a rod or i-ther pivot :d thai is connected et opposite riale to a pziir of levers l. the laitier being gfiwicsl to a horizontal rfa-lt shaft 5 which is mounted in the frame of the machine and is operated by means of a cam or other actuator 3. In the construction shown, said cam engages a vertical arm 4a which constitutes an extension of one of the levers 4, and thereby rocks the same counter-clockwise, with the result that the rod 2 and its hooks will be raised. The entire mechanism is free to drop by the action of gravity, and just before or at the time of falling the hooks are moved toward the pile, this movement being produced through the agency ofa rod 16 which is controlled b v a spring 17 and is operated by a cam 15 mounted on the shaft 14 to which the cam 3 is attached.A In their raised position, said hooks are at or about the same level as the conveyer belt. 34a, hereinafter referred to, andnwhen said hooks are lowered they engage the edge of thegtop sheet andY pull it down upon the pile, at .thesame time permitting succeeding sheets to come over the top.' The hooks are re- `'turned to normal position by means of the spring 18 The mechanism for conveying the sheets of paper to the pile generally consists of a driven roller 34, Fig. 3, around which is passed the sfere-mentioned conveyer belt 34, said belt passing et its other end around a roller 3l". The rciving end of this belt is located beneath s cutting appliance 100, so that as the web is severed thereby each sheet falls upon the'belt and travels along with it to be deposited n on the pile of paper t3; or the sheets ofp paper may be otherwise fed to the conveyer belt 34?. The

relative position between the top of the pile and the conveyer is always substantially th some. To insure this, the hooks 1, or som part of their actuating mechanism or other equivalent are connected to the lowering or raising geur in such a way that the travel of the hooks, on being arrested b v their engaging the pile, causes or allows the lowering or raising gear to be actuated.

ln the following description, the apparatus will be described as ellecting the lowering of the table 4T which carries the pile of sheets, but it must be understood that instead, the roller 3land conveyer belt 34, or other operating appliances may be raised, the gwr being set accordingly, in which case the sble would be a fixture. A convenient way is :is folloivsw-cross one of the levers l with which the hooks l are connected extends a vertical rod 7 whichis BEST AVLBLE CPY 2 i i pivoted at its upper end: tothe horizontal arm of a bell-crank lever 8,' the vertical-arm of the latter beingv formed as a catch or latch. This catch normallyeholds one end 9 of. a lever 10, included inthe lowering gear, into operative position, the lever being fulcrumed at 12 inthe' apparatus. W'hen the hooks 1 are lowered, if their travel is not arrested before the arrive at a predetermined position, a co r 19'on rod'7 is struck by the adjacent lever 4, with the result that the catch 8 is rocked and disengaged from the lever end Y9, whereupon lever 10 rocks by gravity in a counter-clockwise direction, a cam 11 on the shaft 14 coacting with a depending arm 22 on sa'd lever 10 to return the latter to operative position every revolultion before the hooks drop.

`Assuming that the parts above referred to are in the positions shown in Fig. 2, the operation of so much of the apparatus as has been described is substantially as followsz'The hooks 1 have been positioned over the pile by means of the cam l5 and the rod 16, and the arm 4 is just about to be freed from the cam 3, to permit said hooks to be Aas lowered onto the pile, the lever 10 being held upby the engagement of its arm 22 with the cam lland by the action of the 4catch 8. The shaft 14 moves counter-clockwise (Fig, 2), and the levers 4 with the hooks 1 will be released, the latter falling by gravity, and should said hooks rest upon the pile of paper before the lever engages the collar 19, the catch 8 will not be operated, it being kept in place with the rod 7 by means of its balance weight 23, thus indicating that the position of the pile with relation to the apparatus is correct; but should the pile of paper 6 not be high enough, nthe lever 4 will engage the collar 19 and pull down the rod 7, thus releasing the catch'S from the end 9 ofthelever 10 so that when the cam 11 releases the arm 22 the opposite end 21 will drop into inoperative position. The continued travel of the shaft 14 will then result in the release of rod 16, which latter lis returned by the spring 17, and the hooks 1 by the spring 18, ready to be again raised, their raising being effected when the cam 3 again acts upon the end of the lever 4. The rod 7 and catch are then returned to normal position by the balance weight 23, so as to be ready for the engagement of said catch with I the end 9 of the lever 10,` which is effected when the cam 11l lifts that lever 10 to the position shown. l Y

To enable the receptacle'to descend at the exact speed required, .the mechanism shown in Fig. 3 is preferably provided. To some part of the moving mechanism,say, the felt or conveyer. drivingroller 34, isjafiixed a' toothed wheel 35 which is connected by a chain 36 vwith a sprocket 37 loose on the shaft 44 of the lowering gear, one side 38 of direction, connects with the clutch element 39 fixed to shaft 44. `The chain or other drive 36 connected with this sprocket 37 is preferably run at an acute angle to shaft 44,l so that its normal tendency is to keep the clutch element in said sprocket out yot' engagement with the fixed clutch element 39, althou h the sprocket is continually revolving. n oppositesides ofthe said sprocket are incline cam pieces 40 and 4l, the cam 40 on the side away from the clutch being constructed to impinge'against a cam piece 42 on a rod 43 which is movable to engage the cam 40 when required. .The cam piece 42, when in operative position, at every revolib tion, forces the loose sprocket 37 into gear with the fixed clutch element 39, and thus gives motion to the descending gear connected through the shaft 44, the said cam piece 42 being preferably made with a spring action, so thatif at the time the sprocket is'thrown over, the jaws of the clutch do not coincide, the spring will give until such time as the clutch jaws properly engage each other, when the fixed clutch .ele-- ment will start to rotate. Cam piece 42 is preferably attached to rod'43, so that whenever the stopping of the action of the automatic descending gear is desired, it can be moved out of the path of the cam 40 on.the

loose sprocket, and consequently the latter will not be forced into clutch. On the clutch side of the sprocket 37, the cam 41- is designed to impinge against a cam 13 which is heldin adjusted position in a slotv 45 in the end 21 of the lever 10, (shown inFig. 2), by means of a set-screw 46, this cam 13v forcing sprocket 37 out of clutch when such cam 13 is in position for thecam 41 to strike it. The action is as follows :-fl`he sprocket 37 is thrown into clutch with the fixed element 39 at a given time, but the cam 13 for throwing kthe sprocket out of clutch is adjustable as to its position, with the result that if the mechanism is descending too quickly, 4Q1' too great a distanceat one time, the cam 13 can be moved so; that it will engage cam 41 earlier; in othenwords, the extent of drive obtained each revolution is determined by the period of time the sprocket is allowed to remain in c-lutch. lNow it will be seen that the spring cam .42, when in action, is always in `one fixed position, and by determining the position Vof thev cam 13 with regard to this cam 42, the extent of' travel ofthe two clutch elements 38 and 39 ltogether may be regulated; thatis to say, suppose the cam "13 is-positioned just behind the cam 42, the clutch element 38 on sprocket 37 will have been placed in action with thefixed clutch element 39 as soon as the cam 41 leaves the cam 13, and thus a` greater ,part of one revolution of the shaft 44 will have said supporting element comprising a shaft connected therewith, a driving element loosely mounted on said shaft and provided with a clutch member, a coperative clutch member fixed to said shaft, a cam carried by said driving element', means for shifting said driving element along said shaft,to engage the two clutch members together, and a member associated with lthe fixed clutch member and rovided with a cam cooperative with the rst-named cam for sub- -ment loosely mounted on sa'ld shaft an provided with 'a clutch member, a coperative clutch member fixed to said' shaft,- a cam carried by said driving element, means for shifting said driving element along said shaft, to engage the two clutch members together, and a slotted member associated with the fixed clutch .member and provided with a cam adjustably mounted in the slot therein and coperatve with the first-named cam for subsequently moving said driving element away from said fixed clutch member,

to disengage the two-clutch members.

6. In a laying machine, the combination, with a movable sheet-supporting element; of mechanism for controlling the movement vof said supporting element comprising a shaft connected therewith, a driving element `loosely mounted on said shaft and prov vided with a clutch member, a coperative clutch member fixed to said shaft, ya cam carried by said driving element, means for shifting said driving element along said shaft, to engage the two clutch members together, a rocking member associated withV the fixed clutch member and provided witha cam cooperative with the first-named cam, for subsequently shifting said driving element away from said fixed clutch member, to disengage the two'clutch members, and means for rocking the last-named member, to* bring its cam into operative position.

7. In a 'laying machine, the combination, with a movable sheet-supporting element; of mechanism for. controlling the movement ofsaid supporting element comprising a shaft connected therewith, a drivin element loosely mounted on said shaft an provided with a clutclrmember, a coperative clutch member fixed to-said shaft, a cam carried by said driving element, means for shifting said driving element along said shaft to engage the two clutch members together, a rocking member associated with the fixed-clutch member and provided with a slot, and .with axcam adjustably mounted with' a 'movableshect-receiving'element and A3139 Y,

in said slot and coperati've with the firstnamed cam, for subsequently shifting said driving-element away from said fixed clutchi member, to disen ge the two clutch members, and Ameans fgcii rocking 'the last-named member, 'to bring itscaminto operative position. i

8. a' laying machine, the, combination, with va movable sheet-supporting element; of mechanism for controlling the movement of said supporting 'element comprising 'a shaft connected therewith, a driving element loosely mounted on said shaft and provided with a clutch member, a coperative clutch member fixed to said shaft, a cam car-i ried by said driving element, means for shifting said driving element along said shaft, to engage the two clutch members together, a rocking lever rovided with a cam coperative-with the rstnamed cam, 'for ,subsequently shifting said driving element away from the fixed clutch member, to disengage the two clutch members, meansfor normally holding said lever with its cam in inoperative position, and means for re1easing said holding means.-

9. In a laying mechanism, the combination, with a movable sheet-supporting element; of mechanism for controlling the movement of said supporting element com- *M prising a shaft connected therewith, a driving element loosely mounted thereon and provided with a pair of cams disposed'upon its opposite sides and with a clutch member on one side, a coperative clutch member fixed to saidI shaft, a cam eoperative with one of the firstnamed cams for shifting the driving elementvalong said shaft toward the fixed c utclr-member to engage the two clutch members, and a cam coperative with the v otherfirst-named cam for shifting said driving elementaway from saidfixed clutch Lnember to disengage the two clutch memers.

10. In a layingmachine, the combination,

losv

with a movable sheet-supporting element; a

of mechanism for controlling themovement of said supporting element 'comprising a shaft connected therewith, a driving element loosely mounted on said shaft and pro vided with a pairof cams upon its opposite side and with a clutch member on one side, a coperative -clutch member fixed to said shaft, an endwise -movable rod providedwith a terminal cam coperativefwithone of the first-named cams for' shifting said vdriving element along-said shaft toward said fixed clutch vmember to engage. the vtwo clutch members, and amember provided with a cam coperative with the other firstnamed cam vfor shiftingl said driving element away from said fixed clutch member to disengage' the two clutchmembers,

1'1. Ina laying machine, the combination,

means for delivering'the sheets thereto; of pressing 'mechanism cooperative with the pile of sheets on said receiving element embodying a series of sheet-engaging members, a. rod to which said members are connected at their lower ends, a pair of parallel levers to which said rod is pivotally connected at its ends, one of said levers having an extension, a cam arranged to engage said extension for moving said rod and members above the pile, spring means for normally holding said members away from the pile, cam-operated means for moving said members toward said pile against the action of said spring means; mechanism for controlling the movement of `said sheet-receiving element including a rocking controlling member, and i'neans for 'normally holding same in inoperative position; and means associated with said pressing mechanism for automatically releasing said holding means.

12. In a laying machine, the combination; with a movable sheet-receiving element and means for delivering the sheets thereto; of pressing mechanism coperative with the pile of sheets ontsaid receiving element embodying a series of sheet-engaging members 'a rod to which said members are connected the pile, spring means for normally holding A said members above the pile, spring means nism for automatically releasing said catch.

13. In a laying machine, the combination, with a movable sheet-supporting element, and mechanism for pressing down upon the pile of sheets thereon; of mechanism for controlling the movement of said supporting element embodying a rocking controlling member, a pivoted catch normally engaged with said member for holding same in inoperative position, and a vertical rod connected at its upper end to said catch and ,provided adjacent its lower end with a collar; and means associated with said pressing mechanism and adapted for engagement with said collar, to lower said rod and thereby release said catch from said holding means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

renuncien WILLIAM nerim.

Witnesses:

C. H. ZEE, B. B. Loom. 

